I'M SORRY! I know this chapter is late but i might just have to start doing this every other week now regularly anyways. I DO have good reasons though. For one my mom got laid off so I'm trying to help her where I can. Meaning I'm loaning her money and even looking for a new job that pays more and I can work full time at. Also I'm having car troubles that should be fixed by tomorrow and credit troubles (that on is easy to fix but it takes sooooo long.) But ya, BUSY. To make up for it though I sat down and wrote this mega chapter for you guys. Well its mega for me anyway. Hope you guys enjoy it.~


I stopped behind the butler behind a wide set of double doors. They looked like doors that should be at the front of some large important building rather than inside a mansion. But I guess that was Vlad for you. Overly excessive to the point where he was eccentric, and rich enough to do it without worry.

The butler, I forget his name, turned to me before opening the door.

"Please refrain from showing disrespect toward the Master. He has been kind enough to allow you to stay here for the time being and it would be terribly rude to not show the proper respect."

I was thrown for a loop. I thought I WAS being respectful. Well, compared to how I have been to him before I was being a saint now. Also, how did this guy even know? I haven't seen him at all. Did Vlad tell him?

"Therefore I will inform you on how to act when meeting him, as it seems you do not know."

Wow. Was all that came to mind.

"When first walking into the room you are to bow your head slightly an-"

The butler droned on, and I listened. If this was how Vlad wanted me to act around him then it was something I would have to do. I owed him that much… and so much more. My mind turned dark, but I stopped myself by listening to the butler once more.

When he was finished he looked me over to make sure I was doing things properly and then nodded to himself as if he was proud that he was able to teach me. Then he stepped back, bringing the doors with him, announcing our presence to the entire room.

I walked in with my head bent slightly towards the floor like the butler had said. It didn't feel right. It felt weak and submissive. I was neither of those things. Well, I didn't think I was before, but now... Suddenly it became much easier to act the way I was told. My head bowed even more than I'm sure was necessary.

It didn't matter though, Vlad was talking to someone on the phone. The conversation seemed heated, and Vlad was angry, like someone had just taken some of Vlad's money and used it on something completely unconventional. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"Well I said to get the RED ones!" I heard Vlad say. "The blue ones serve a completely different function that will not do for the workers that are involved! Well RETURN them and get the red ones instead and if they do not give you a complete refund then whatever the charge is, it's coming out of your paycheck!" Vlad slammed his phone shut glaring at it a good few seconds before looking up.

I tried to compose myself. I had been somewhere in between gawking at my accurate train of thought from before and laughing at the most seemingly normal thing that Vlad was getting so angry about. It took a lot more for me to get him so angry, him always being calm and collected, but this, it was just so Normal.

Luckily Vlad ignored the small laugh that had bubbled out of my mouth. It was quiet. If anyone had heard it around me then it would have been heard as a breath of air whooshing past my lips. But with our super hearing I know that Vlad for one definitely heard it, and ignored it.

I stayed standing where I was through the entire phone call, my head still bent down and my hands clasped behind my back.

"Welcome Little Badger. Do you feel better?" Vlad asked me. I nodded still not looking up but then remembered I was supposed to verbally answer him always.

"Yes."

"Good." Vlad answer. "Now why are you just standing there, come sit, we'll have dinner served in a moment." He gestured to the chair to his left. He of course sat at the head of the giant table. I consciously stepped forward, keeping my hands clasped and going over the butler's words again to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't want Vlad to get upset at me after all.

Once I got to the chair I let the butler, who had seemed to just appear out of nowhere having disappeared before, pull my chair back. I sat down and clasped my hands in my lap now as he pushed me in. My eyes never looked to Vlad, but he was silent so I assumed what I was doing was correct.

Soon the dinner is placed in front of us, literally on silver platters. Good smelling steam dissipates through out the room when the silver domes covering the food is lifter away.

"Tonight the cook has prepared seasoned Kobe Beef with a side of sauteed La Bonnotte Potatoes and asparagus as well as a small side of Red Caviar." The butler announced. I stared down at my plate as he said it. Basically it was just steak with potatoes, asparagus, and… fish eggs. I stared down at the shiny red bubus looking eggs that sat on top of my steak. Normally I wouldn't touch it, ever, but here I had no choice. I was supposed to eat without complaint or hesitancy.

So, waiting until Vlad took his first bite, I picked up my fork and slowly shoved some into my mouth trying my best to pretend that something wasn't completely wrong. If I was being honest the eggs weren't all that bad, and the meat was amazing, I was just to grossed out with the fact that I was eating fish eggs to comprehend such thoughts. I was about to shove a second forkful in my mouth when I heard Vlad speak.

"Leave us." He said. The butler bowed and disappeared. I put down my fork shakily, he must have noticed that I was struggling. Great now he's upset. I stared down at my plate, still not looking at him and not saying a word.

"What is wrong Daniel?" Vlad asked. "I know you would never just eat this without some kind of comment or childish fit. Although I DID ask for a simple meal today, this is still far from your tastes." I winced. Did he want me to fail? My brow furrowed in confusion. "Look at me Little Badger." I did.

He didn't look mad or frustrated at all. In fact he looked… worried? I was thrown for a loop for the second time in ten minutes.

"Even with recent events, you were not acting this strange earlier. What has changed?"

"I-I thought you wanted me to act like this?" I said hesitantly. I knew that I was told to not ask questions but right now I was to confused. I need some kind of answers or reassurance that what I was doing was what he wanted.

"Wanted you to? What do you mean Daniel?" His brows were furrowed with confusion, a mirror of my own.

"But. I. The butler-." His eyes suddenly lit with understanding. Vlad reached under the table and I heard a quiet buzz. The butler suddenly walked into the room a moment later, bowing low.

"What is it that you need master?" He asked. Did he just summon the guy with a button? Like in the movies? Cool.

"Sebastian," So that was his name. "Daniel is not a guest here, he is a master." Vlad said like it was the simplest thing in the world. What? The butlers eyes went wide for a moment but he bowed quickly and asked,

"Will he be staying with us indefinitely then, master?"

"For as long as he feels he needs to, yes." Vlad answered.

"And if I may ask," Sebastian hesitated, "What is you relationship?" Vlad paused and looked at me for a moment before deciding what to say.

"He's my son. For all intents and purposes." Vlad's eyes never left me as he said this, they almost seemed to be pleading, but that couldn't have been true. Vlad doesn't 'plead' to anyone for anything.

I had almost choked on my water that I was sipping on as they talked when he said 'son'. I wasn't expecting it. But unusually, it didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth like it used to. Either I was starting to trust the fruitloop or this steak was making 'bad tastes' impossible right now.

Sebastian bowed again before turning to me.

"I apologize for my rude behavior from before, master Daniel. I should not have assumed."

"That's alright." I said quietly, not sure if he was sincere or just doing what was required of him.

"Is there anything else I may get you, masters?" He asked.

"No, but send in someone to collect our plates soon, I believe we are almost done here." Vlad said to him.

"Very well." Sebastian bowed one last time before leaving behind the doors he had come from before. It is quiet for a moment as we continue eating our food. Vlad has all but cleared his plate while I was still only half done. But I felt fuller than I had in a long time. I was never able to eat this much at home.

"Is that all you are going to eat?" Vlad asked when I set down my fork and leaned back in my chair. An obvious sign of 'done.'

"Ya." I said looking down. "It's good, honestly. I just… not used to eating so much. I'm really full." Vlad nodded before continuing on.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about tonight before we retire, Little Badger?" He asked me. I remembered that I wanted to ask him about school.

"You said I had to go to school..?" I started.

"Yes." He said flatley. "School is not an option. You are going." Geeze he sounded more serious than my parents even were about going to school. Usually they didn't care so much about my attendance, just about my grade, which sucked.

"But-"

"No buts. You're going. Education is important, especially for someone of your age and ability." I suddenly became apprehensive.

"What do my ghost abilities have to do with anything?" I said, my brows furrowed. Vlad sighed.

"Your powers are not your only 'ability' Daniel." He said. "I was talking about your intellect. You are very smart, and should be utilizing it to secure yourself a good future. Albeit you will be taken care of should you not have, before, whether it was directly or indirectly by me." And the loop that i had been thrown in multiple times already was back. He thought I was smart? Taken care of?

"Haven't you seen my grades? I'm not very smart." I said deciding to focus on one thing at a time. Vlad chuckled.

"Yes I have seen your horrendous grades my boy. But those are merely reflections of your struggle with fighting so many ghosts, not your true intellect when you focus on something and try your best. I have seen THAT during many of your fights, it truly amazes me sometimes." I amazed him? "And trust me when I say the fighting will stop while you are here. You will have nothing to worry about." I nodded looking down.

As guilty as it made me feel I remember making that promise to myself when I first got here. Before I completely passed out. I didn't want to fight anymore. Not for anyone else sake anyway. If I decide to fight, it will be because I want to. Not because someone else needs my help. I let out a shaky breath. I just hope I'll be able to keep my promise if I ever see anyone in trouble.

"And what do you mean by taken care of?" I asked. It was the next thing on my list to ask. Vlad shook his head as if shaking away whatever he was thinking.

"I would have taken care of you from a distance Little badger, whether you stayed with your parents, or moved out. Your grades suggested that you weren't going to be able to get the best of jobs, and my funds were always open and ready to help you should you have needed it." My mouth hung open as he continued. "Of course I knew you would not have accepted funds from me so I would have just made a few anonymous donations, as I have been doing in the past-"

"Wait what?" I said interrupting him. He sighed again.

"You would be surprised at how much your parents spend on their obsession with ghost hunting." He said. I just stared at him.

"But, we were never hurting for money." I said "So why-"

"Had I not stepped in, your family would have been either on the street or in that hideous RV the very month after we first met." I didn't know what to say, were we really that bad off back then.

"When I first saw how much your parents had been making versus what they were spending I was astonished. I could not understand how people with jobs that make so little were able to not only support a family, but continue to pursue such interests. I found out they had been running off of your family's money for a long time. Did you know both sets of your grandparents were very rich?"

I shook my head no still listening, but having a hard time registering.

"Well they were. But your parent had almost used all of it. At first I laughed, thinking that Jack would be his own downfall. That he might successfully drive your mother away himself, and of course my door would always be open for her." He paused. "But then I thought of you. I didn't want that life for you. There may have been a chance where you AND your mother might have come to me but, there was also a chance that you wouldn't. And for some reason I decided that it was not worth a chance. So anonymously, I offered to 'buy' some of their equipment for a large sum of money.

This of course gave them the idea that selling their equipment might be useful, so they started to develop things other than just what was necessary to catch ghosts but rather things that kept them away as well like shield and the such, and then selling to places around Amity that needed it.

They still didn't make much money and so I stepped in whenever necessary as an anonymous buyer or donater, when I thought it was needed, and that was quite often." Vlad ended his little backstory, if that's what you could call it. "But yes Daniel. I would have always taken care of you." He smiled a small genuine smile at me.

My chest constricted and a tear slipped down my cheek. All this time. I've been hurting him. I've been mean and cruel in my remarks to this man. Sure he did some bad things sometimes, but didn't I also? And I called myself a hero. Yet all this time Vlad has been doing this for me and my family. No, not my family. Just me. I came first is his eyes. I was a new sensation, and it was so surprising and confusing that I could no longer hold in the feelings.

My chest heaved and I buried my face into my hands. Why didn't I see it sooner. I was an Idiot. A cruel messed up kid with a hero complex. I felt arms wrap around me and a hand running their fingers through my hair.

"Now now little badger what is wrong, surely you realise that I would never make you pay me back for such a thing." He said quietly to me, in a soothing voice. I couldn't tell him that he had it wrong. My throat was to constricted to speak.

Instead I just wrapped my arms around him as well and buried my face in his shoulder. I was able to squeak out a hushed 'thank you' before I continued to sob.

We stayed like this for a while. Until I wasn't crying anymore, and the tears on my face had dried. Vlad continued to stroke his hands through my hair and I just sat there leaning against him. At one point I almost fell asleep but I felt him shift and pulled away as he did.

"I believe it is a good time for us to retire now." He said in a hushed voice. I nodded agreeing. I was exhausted. Vlad stood and waited until I did as well before leading me out of the dining room and back up my own room. We said nothing the entire way there and for that I was relieved. I just wanted some peace and quiet right now.

"Goodnight, Little badger." Was all he said as he closed the door to my room behind me after I entered it.

"Goodnight." I whispered, knowing he would still hear it even though he was already walking down the hall towards what I assumed was his room.


Sooooo Wacha thing? Good? Poop? Something between a strangled cat and a melted bowl of ice cream? Let me hear you thoughts. Also, if you're new and want to know when I update next, make sure you follow either me or the story down below. See you guys in the next one.

Dragon~